López Obrador’s victory in Mexico brings hope for Mexican farmers expecting more self-sufficiency through a reduction in dependence on imports, chemical-intensive production methods, and GMOs. Promises of support for sustainable practices on small and medium-scale farms are on the horizon.
Op-Ed
Opinion | 50 Groups Denounce Roundtable on Sustainable Beef as Greenwash
The beef industry’s poor grazing management, unethical treatment, and environmentally unfriendly practices will rule out credible plans for sustainable beef, unless industry leaders take serious action.
Opinion | Time for a Win for Conservation in the New Farm Bill
Another status quo Farm Bill may jeopardize the future of the food system, failing to regulate pesticides, improve water quality, support organic farmers, and more.
Opinion | Snacks and the City: The Malnutrition Cocktail
Rapid urbanization in low-income countries has negative consequences on the food system, which affects the physical, economic, and environmental health of these areas. The ‘Malnutrition Cocktail’ describes the convergence of hunger and obesity within these urbanized populations.
Opinion | From Child Labor to the Future of Food: The Voices of Young People Change Agriculture for the Better
Young people are changing the face of agriculture; their voices may be the key to protect the 108 million children trapped in forced agricultural labor, says Anita Sheth.
Opinion | Why Fast Fashion Needs to Slow Down
Have you ever thought about what your clothes are made of? Who makes them, or what happens when you throw them away? The truth about the fashion industry is ugly, but you can be part of the change.
Opinion | On the International Day for Biological Diversity, Consider the Beauty of the Potato
Today is the United Nation’s International Day for Biological Diversity, a day to highlight the importance of the shared global heritage of food crops, the people who grow them, and working together to keep agriculture alive for the generations to come.
Opinion | The 2018 Farm Bill Battle Lines Have Been Drawn: Here’s What You Can Do
Every four years, a new Farm Bill must be passed by the U.S. Congress. This massive piece of legislation covers many different aspects of food and agriculture in the United States—from nutritional assistance for low-income communities to subsidies for farmers to conservation of natural resources.
Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition YES! Finalist Chris Maughan on Agroecology Innovations for Social Justice and Sustainability
BCFN Alumni Chris Maughan describes the rise of the agroecology movement, the biggest obstacles to agroecological development, and how the SHIFFT project is working to support agroecological innovations across Europe.
Op-Ed: The Future of Food
The food system cannot sustain prolonged impacts from climate change and unchecked population growth. Professor Sayed Azam-Ali shares his insights about creating a sustainable future for food through the generation of a long-lasting, nutritional food source.
To Save Family Farms, We Must Oppose Monsanto-Bayer Merger
The pending Monstanto-Bayer merger will increasingly limit farmers choices while increasing the price of required agricultural inputs. Congressional candidate Austin Frerick is out to right this wrong, restore competition within the market, and save family farms.
Growing an Agricultural Revolution in Puerto Rico
Today marks 100 days since Hurricane Maria made landfall, and Puerto Rico is still importing 95 percent of its food. It’s time to talk about the island’s right to food security by way of food sovereignty.
The Ghosts of Feasts Past: How to Reduce Food Waste
Americans waste more than 165 million kilograms (364 million pounds) of food every day but two-thirds of residential food waste in the United States is edible. Meanwhile, 1 in 8 people in the U.S. do not have regular access to food.
How Wine is Closed Shouldn’t Be A Guessing Game
Overall wine sales are 67% higher in the week leading up to Christmas compared to an average week and consumers should know more about how their wine is closed and how a simple neck hanger that outlines the environmental benefits of cork forests can promote transparency, sustainability, and awareness.
Mondelēz International’s Cocoa Life Program Promises Farmers a Sweeter Deal
The world’s largest chocolate company sets the standard for corporate sustainability in food, targeting 100-percent sustainably-sourced cocoa.
Accra’s Growing Green Movement
Like many cities throughout the world, Accra has yoga studios, organic produce deliveries, and weekly green markets. But it also has toxic traffic fumes, clogged open drains, and plastic-lined beaches. Sustainable might feel like it’s for the middle class—but environmentalists are trying to change that.
Keep Your Eyes on the Price: WTO Remains Blind to Agricultural Dumping
Farm leaders from around the world were greatly disappointed in the outcome, or lack thereof, at the biennial World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires. If the WTO is to fulfill its mandate to support development and reduce unfair trade, it has to keep its eyes on the prize of fair prices and address illegal dumping.
Tapping into Ancient Strains to Bring Heat-Tolerant Wheat to Senegal
A group of scientists won the 2017 Olam Prize for Innovation in Food Security for applying advanced breeding techniques to strains of primitive and modern wheat to develop a set of durum wheat varieties that can not only withstand constant 35 to 40 degree Celsius (95 to 104 degree Fahrenheit) heat, but also grow remarkably fast, in only 92 days.
Swigging Cashew, Sorghum, and Sugarcane: the Ghanaian Entrepreneurs Competing for Ghana’s Drinkers
In a country that relies heavily on imports, Ghanaian entrepreneurs are taking matters into their own glasses, providing drinkers with tipples that help local farmers and national pride.
India’s Public Stockholding: “Much more than a welfare program”
India’s food security and stockholding program uses precisely the same policies that the U.S. used in its early farm policy coming out of the Great Depression. Exactly the same: price supports, food reserves, administered markets, subsidies. The U.S. government used them because they work. India and other countries should be allowed to use them, too. Because they work.
